Media Advisory: Healthcare Professionals, Including Doctors, At Providence Women's Clinic, Providence St. Vincent Vote To Authorize Strike -10/23/24

WHAT: 
In another first for Oregon, doctors, physician associates, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and clinic nurses from Providence Women’s Clinic and Providence St. Vincent Hospital voted overwhelmingly to authorize their bargaining teams to call for a strike if necessary. This would be the first doctor’s strike in Oregon history and comes on the heels of Providence nurses holding the largest nursing strike in Oregon history. 

Representatives of the bargaining units, including doctors and nurses, will be available to talk with the media about what negotiations with Providence management have been like, what they are advocating for, and why frontline caregivers voted to strike. 

WHEN/WHERE:    
Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. – Noon    
Oregon Nurses Association, 18765 SW Boones Ferry Road, 3rd Floor, Tualatin 

Media who are unable to attend in person, can schedule a time to talk with a doctor or nurse  from Providence Women’s Clinic or Providence St. Vincent Hospitalist bargaining unit via video conference or phone during the allotted time by emailing Myrna Jensen at Jensen@OregonRN.org 

WHO:  
Doctors and nurses from Providence St. Vincent and Providence Women’s Clinic.  

WHY:   
Doctors, nurse practitioners, physician associates, certified nurse midwives, and clinic nurses who work at Providence Women’s Clinic and Providence St. Vincent want to ensure safe environments for patients, provide high-quality care through appropriate staffing levels and have assurances that Providence will work with providers to recruit and retain highly skilled and valuable staff. These frontline caregivers have lost a tremendous amount of autonomy, respect, and in many cases, authority to best care for their patients and create a satisfying professional career. Instead, they have been forced into a corporate healthcare model that is causing moral injury and exhaustion. 

Negotiations commenced in November 2023 for Providence Women’s Clinic while hospitalists at Providence St. Vincent started in Jan 2024. Despite recent involvement of a federal mediator, Providence executives continue to ignore the calls of their frontline staff who are asking for more time to spend with patients, safe staffing levels, and competitive wages and benefits to be able to recruit and retain more staff. 

If a strike is called, it would be the first doctor’s strike in Oregon history. Should the need for a strike materialize, Providence will be given enough notice to allow adequate time to cease admissions and transfer patients or to reach a fair agreement and avert a work stoppage. The bargaining teams for Providence Women’s Clinic and Providence St. Vincent will continue to be available to meet Providence management at the bargaining table. 

Problems at Providence continue to mount as thousands of frontline staff are working without contracts at Providence facilities across Oregon. In June, 3,000 RNs from six Providence hospitals held a three-day strike in what was the largest nurses strike in Oregon history. Providence retaliated by locking them out for an additional two days. Since June, those bargaining units have met with management and a federal mediator on multiple occasions, but agreements have not been reached as Providence management continues to come up short on safe staffing and competitive wages and benefits that would help recruit and retain more nurses. Additionally, Nurses and clinicians from Providence Portland, Seaside and Home Health & Hospice began their negotiations with management last month. Contracts of those three bargaining units will expire Dec. 31, 2024.

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) represents a diverse community of more than 20,000 nurses, and healthcare professionals throughout Oregon. Together, we use our collective power to advocate for critical issues impacting patients, nurses, and health care professionals including a more effective, affordable and accessible healthcare system; better working conditions for all health care professionals; and healthier communities. For more information visit www.OregonRN.org.

The Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association (PNWHMA) was created in 2015 as the first hospitalist-specific labor union in the United States. It has since expanded to represent more doctors and advanced practice providers. PNWHMA is affiliated with AFT Healthcare—the fastest-growing healthcare union in the country. AFT Healthcare represents more than 200,000 members in 100 locals in 18 states and territories. PNWHMA bargaining units are serviced by ONA.
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